Susanna Wesley's Epworth Memoirs - Part 1 We Leave South Ormsby
IN THIS new series Belton writer, Colin Ella, opens up the character of Susanna Wesley and gives us new insights into the thinking of this remarkable lady)
Susanna Wesley sits in her pleasant apartment in the London home of her son, John, at the Methodist Headquarters. She enjoys the views over Moorfields and Windmill Hill and beyond the wide expanse of Bunhill Fields. She relaxes in a comfort and life style she has not known since her early childhood in London's Spital Yard. In her old age she is now able to assist her sons in the work of the Methodist movement and she finds a new fulfilment and satisfaction, and yet she often reflects on her long and patient years in the wild and desolate wastes of Lincolnshire. She thinks of the cold east winds at South Ormsby and the watery stretches of the Isle of Axholme. She recalls the years and years of parish life alongside her gritty and tireless husband (now lying at rest by the south door of his beloved St Andrew's Church at Epworth) He had served Epworth faithfully for nearly forty years.
Susanna hears again the laughter of her girls in the nursery, the crackle of those awful flames, the angry shouts of the rioters, and the sounds of wedding bells. Her mind roves back to the wide Trent valley and the rustic scenes of fold and glebe. She sees her radiant, developing girls and their eager suitors; her three fresh faced lads setting out for their London schools. The memories ebb and flow again and again and Susanna takes up her quill and begins to write.
I was mighty thankful when at last we arrived at our new home on that bleak and blustery February evening. We had left South Ormsby at five in the morning and it had been a hard and difficult trek all through the day. At the start we had come through a dense and clinging fog and we could barely see a yard beyond the horses hauling the dray. We encountered no well made up road for almost the entire journey and for much of the time we seemed to be using little more than farm tracks.
After three laborious hours we creaked into Louth and resting a while, we ate a few oatcakes and took a quaff of ale. The carrier had to pick up some parcels at the staging post and as we waited Sukey and Molly grew restless. They felt tired and sick from the constant jolting and bucking of our transport. Their delicate frames could not take it.
I was relieved to get away from our mean, reed and clay home at South Ormsby, but felt unhappy and still disturbed by the unsavoury affair which had forced our move, but now I saw it all as God's plan for us.
Our six years at that bleak hamlet had passed quickly enough and we had began to increase our family. Sadly we had left behind three of our babes. Susanna, Jedekiah and Annesley were laid to rest in St Leonard's church quiet little graveyard. I thanked God for the four dear children I brought with me to Epworth. Sammy, at seven, was my eldest, and his bright, sharp eyes showed promise. Emmy already looked more than her five years. Sukey sucked her thumb incessantly and Molly was but a babe in arms.
The fog left us at Market Rasen and a dismal drizzle set in all the way. We had quite a long wait for the ferry but eventually it gave us a smooth sail over placid waters. Our dray was unloaded from the cargo ferry and we soon rolled away from Owston Ferry.
A winding track brought us to our destination and wisps of smoke moved quickly in the breeze. Minutes later our dray came to a halt outside our new residence. We all felt exhausted, stiff, weary and thoroughly drained. We huddled in a close group, Molly clasped in my arms and Emmy and Sukey clinging to my skirts sheltering from the biting wind.
Next week in Part 2 - I hoped for Better Things.
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Weather for Epworth
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
